Krauthammer on Speaker Ryan holding out on a Trump endorsement: 'He played it well'

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer told viewers Thursday on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that, on a day Donald Trump crossed the 1,237-delegate threshold to become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, House Speaker Paul Ryan played smart politics by waiting to offer an endorsement.

“Ultimately, everyone knows, he's going to have to endorse,” Krauthammer said. “But I think he played it well by saying, after his initial hesitation, ‘I'm not ready, I need to talk about this,’ saying he's willing to step down if Trump asks him to step down as chairman of the convention.”

Krauthammer added that move is a win for Ryan.

“If [Ryan] steps down, he's not responsible. He's not implicated, assuming the Trump campaign ends up [faring] badly in November. If [Ryan] does stay, that means Trump has not decided to act against him,” Krauthammer said.

Krauthammer speculated that while Ryan will eventually give Trump his support, a major reason for his reluctance may be Trump’s recent criticism of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.

“Trump gratuitously went after a Latina, woman governor, popular, and the chairman of the governors’ association. As a matter of what looked like vengeance. It makes no sense politically,” he said, concluding, “I think as a result of that, it'll be a long process before Paul Ryan acquiesces.”